Fruit thinner



Patented June 2, '1925.

.PATENT OFFICE..

ALST'YNE J'. lGdR-Oliv, OF HOOD RIVER, OREGON.

FRUIT THINNER.

Application filed July 24, 1923. lSerial No. 653,495.

To @ZZ whom et may cfmwe'ra:

Be it known that I, ALs'rrNn J. GROW, a citizen oi' Vthe United States, and resident ot Hood River, .county of Hood River, and State ofyO'reg'on, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement .in Fruit Thinners, of which the following is a specification.

As well known, in commercial orchards the fruit is thinned :in order to cut down the `cpuantity, and obtain ya better and larger fruit. For example, in apple trees the fruit is left no closer on the tree than Ll, 6 or 8 inches apart, so that the fruit will be induoed to grow larger, .more uniform in size, and the tree will not tend to overbear in the heavy years. y

The thinning is yusually done by hand, or with some scissors-'like device. Such means suffice where the fruit can be readily reached lby Vthe operator while standing on the ground; but, obviously, this is within a. very limited range only. Furthermore, thinning shears are sharp pointed and often puncture the good fruit, and :the complaint is often made thatJ those who use the :thinning shears, will inadvertently snip oft the @luster ot leaves that the young fruit deipends upon for nutriment, thus injuringits development.

The object of myinvention is to provide a simple inexpensive implement handy to use for thinning the fruit, and bywh-ich the operator can as lreadily operate on the fruit out ot the reach of Vhis hands as that nearby; 'an-d,furthermore, so that "th-is awork maybe conveniently and expeditiously done, with but little use oi a ladder. n p

lt is further my obj-ect so to eonstruet the implement that it may be operated to cut or break ott the fruit to be removed it'rom the stem, according to tl'ieprefterence el the operator. Y

I attain my object by an implement comprisme,- a handle-bar, `having an elongate operating-'bar slidably mounted thereon. A blade is mounted on the upper end of said operating bar, and a hook is provi-ded on the upper end of the handle-bar; the operating-bar being' preferablyspring` controlled, so that, normally, the blade which it earries will be retracted from said hook; and

.latter wire-like in crossv section at :the

Details ot construction, and the operation ot my `implement are hereinatter more fully deseribed, and illustrated by .the accom-pany ing drawings, in which:`

Fig. l is a perspective .elevation of my implement showing its praotioafl use for thinning the fruit of an ,apple tree;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation yof my imple ment with the middle portion broken away.

Fig. `3 'is ,a similar side elevation with parts in seetion to show details of construe tion.

Fig. 4 is a seetionaldetailof the top end of the operating bar and 4of .the reversible and adjustable blade removably secured to sueh top end;

Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. il, show.- ing .the blade reversed with respect to its posit-ion n Fig. 4, so as to present the squareedge end; and Y Fig. -6 illustrates, diagrammatically, certain features off my implement, hereinafter fully described. Y

My'imp'lement consists of a handle-bar a, preferably made `with rounded' edgesj @n thefhandle bar is slidably mounted a compan'ion or .operatingfbar b5 On the upper end .of the 'handledoar a is fastened a hook c. This hook, as moreelearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is Orl rounded or cireular form and has a shank which extends a substantial distance beyond the upper end `of the handle bar, and wire-like in cross section at the bll so that itgmay be -4inserted between closely grown stems bearing fruit without danger of breakingoi the truit not Yto fbe removed. The shank may Ibe tapered `to the point c" oit the jointlu'e ot the bill of said hook with its shank, ,so that at this point the hookI will be of diminutive cross section, the spaee at ene'side o the shank of the hook will `be substantially 4equal to the space encompassed by said bill, and the 4 center ofthe latter space coincides with the longitudinal center of the handle-bar. The bill ofthe hook 0 is preferably made square in leross-sectiolfi along its bottom edge between the points e and c2 (compare Figs. 2 and 6) thereby facilitating the operation et my implement. And it is to be noted from Fig. 6 that this square edge 02 `of the bill of the hook should be approximately located so as to aline with the cutting edge of the blade d, whether the latter is made with a chisel edge cl2, or a squareedge cl.

The upper end a2 of the handle-bar a is preferably tapered so that there is no protruding portion which mightcatch on a limb of the tree. Y

To the upper end of the operating-bar b is removably secured a reversible knifeblade cl. This knife-blade is preferably made with a square edge as d at one end, and the other -end may be made with a chisel or knife edge as at d2 in Figs. 4 and 5. |The purpose in making the blade d reversible, so that it will present a square edge or chisel-like edge, is to provide an implementwhich will meet the ideas of the operator with regard to the best mode of removing the surplus fruit growth from the cluster. When a chisel-like edge, as shown by d2 in Fig. l is provided on the blade d the removal of the surplus fruit growth may re-. sult in the stem of the latter being cut with a sharp point, which wouldv have a tendency to penetrate and bruise the adjacent fruit growth. Therefore, in order to avoid such result it may be considered preferable in most cases to use the square edge of the blade, so that in removing the surplus fruit the stem thereof will be broken off, as it were, and will leave a broken end as indicated at e in Fig. l, presenting no sharp point.

In vorder to make my implement convenient to operate it is desirable that the operating-bar Z) be normally retracted from the hook e; in other words, held in the position in which it is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. To this end the handle-bar is provided with a longitudinal. elongated slot f in which is located a spring g, one end of which is connected to the operating-bar Z) as at z, in Fig. 3, and the opposite end of the spring vbeing connectedY to a handle-bar, as at e', in Fig. 3. The operating-handle b is slidably mounted on the handle bar t by the headed pins y' and 7c bearing in the slots Z and m of the operating bar.

The implement may be made in various lengths to suit the convenience of the operator. As for example, the handle may be made 2, 4, t' or 8 feet long. The handlebar and `the operating-bar should be so relatively proportioned that my implement may be conveniently grasped at any point of its length, and not require the moving of the hand to the end of the handle-bar. And preferably the opera-ting handle b should be made of greater width than the handle-bar a so' that it will serve asl a guide to the operators hand. In other words, guiding the grasp of the operators hand to the operating handle, preventing the lingers from overlapping the latter and seizing, accidentally, the sides of the handle-bar, and thus interfering with the operation of my implement. Instead guiding the grasping fingers of the operators hand to the sides of the handle of the operating-bar, thus facilitating the operation of my implement without requiring any speciall attention on the part of the operator.

My experience taught me that itis convenient to make the handle-bar 'l1/2 inches wide by 374 inches thick, and the operatingbar 374 inch wide by 1A: inch thick, in that way combining necessary strength with desired lightness.

The mode of operating my implement is illustrated by Fig. 1. The handle-bar of my implement is firmly held with `the left hand, and the operating-bar seized by the right hand, then the hook c is caught'on the stem of the fruit growth to be removed, and the operator slides the operating-bar with a quick upward movement. In so doing the blade Z cuts the stem of the fruit growth to be removed, without danger of injuring the other fruit of the cluster. Upon releasing the handle-bar the spring g will return to its normal position; that is, retract it again from the hook as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 by reason of the hook c of my implement being made of lcircular form at its upper end, or curved portion, adjacent stems about the stem ofthe fruit to be removed are not injured, and obstacles are readily avoided.

It will be found that one of my implements 6 or S feet long may be successfully used on fruit only 2 feet away by simply' graspingthe implement near its top.

The particular detail of construction of my improvement may be varied to suit the convenience of the manufacturer, provided the operating parts be adapted so as to function substantially as described.

I claim:

1. In a fruit thinner, a handle bar, a hook provided atthe upper end of the handle bar, the upper or curved portion of said hook being of circular form and of circular cross section, a companion bar relatively slidable on the handle bar, and a knife-blade pro- 1Eided at the upper end of the companion 2. In a `fruit thinner, a handle bar, a hook provided at the upperI end of the handle bar, the upper or curved portion of said hook being of rounded form and of circular wire-like cross section, a companion bar relatively slidable on the handle bar, a knife blade provided at the upper end of the companion bar, and a spring element normally holding the companion bar retracted.

3. In a fruit thinner, a handle bar, a hook provided at the upper end of the handle bar, the upper or curved portion of said hook heing of circular forni and of circular cross section, a companion bar relatively sliolable on the handle bar, and a knife blade provided at the upper end of the companion bar, said companion bar being made of greater Width than the handle bar for the purpose specilied.

4. In a fruit thinner, a handle bar, a hook provided at the upper end of the handle 1U bar, the upper or curved portion of Said hook being oi rounded forni and of Wirellke oross section, a companion bar relatively slidable on the handle bar, a knife companion bar being ina-de of greater Width than the handle bar foi-.the purpose Specified.

ALSTYNE J. GROV. 

